The present invention relates, in general, to electronics and, more particularly, to semiconductor device structures and methods of forming semiconductor devices.
A Schottky device is a type of semiconductor device that exhibits a low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching action. The lower forward voltage drop translates into less energy wasted as heat, which provides improved system efficiency and higher switching speed compared to conventional PN junction diodes. This makes Schottky devices more suitable for applications requiring higher efficiency power management. Such applications include wireless/portable devices, boost converters for LCD/keypad backlighting, charge circuits as well as other small signal applications.
With demands to further improve battery life in these applications and others, the market is requiring even higher efficiency devices, such as Schottky devices having lower power dissipation, higher power density, and smaller die size. However, related Schottky device designs have not provided a viable solution to meet the higher efficiency requirement. The related devices have exhibited poor performance including, among other things, higher than expected leakage current and higher than expected forward voltage drop. In addition, this poor performance has made it difficult to produce a device capable of meeting present and emerging industry requirements for unclamped inductive switching (UIS), electro-static discharge (ESD), and/or surge non-repetitive forward current (IFSM) performance.
Accordingly, it is desired to have a method for forming a higher efficiency Schottky device and a structure that exhibits, among other things, an improved tradeoff between a lower leakage and a lower forward voltage drop to provide lower power dissipation and higher power density in a reduced die size. Additionally, it is also beneficial for the method and structure to be cost effective and easy to integrate into preexisting process flows.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein, current-carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device, such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor, an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor, or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device, such as a gate of a MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-type regions and certain P-type regions, a person of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity types can be reversed and are also possible in accordance with the present description. For clarity of the drawings, certain regions of device structures, such as doped regions or dielectric regions, may be illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that, due to the diffusion and activation of dopants or formation of layers, the edges of such regions generally may not be straight lines and that the corners may not be precise angles. Furthermore, the term “major surface” when used in conjunction with a semiconductor region, wafer, or substrate means the surface of the semiconductor region, wafer, or substrate that forms an interface with another material, such as a dielectric, an insulator, a conductor, or a polycrystalline semiconductor. The major surface can have a topography that changes in the x, y and z directions.